How much work does your title do to take readers into the story?Learn more about the book and author at Claire McMillan's website.
I like a title that's a little mysterious and a little poetic. It also satisfies when a title strikes like an 'a-ha' at some point in the book. Remedios Varo's journey is one of finding herself, her artistic expression, and her own voice as a painter. She was also heavily influenced by the tarot and the spiritual in her work. I had a long list of words associated with these topics that I wanted to incorporate into the title, and I'd often play around with them when I was stuck writing. When I came up with Alchemy of a Blackbird I loved it, and I never thought my publisher would let me keep it. To my surprise, they loved it too.
What's in a name?
Since I was writing historical fiction about actual people, the names were a given. That said, it's...[read on]
Writers Read: Claire McMillan (September 2017).
Q&A with Claire McMillan.
--Marshal Zeringue
Posts
